Methods of producing tumor-specific monoclonal antibodies which comprise cultivating hybridomas obtained by fusion of antibody-producing cells derived from immunized animals with myeloma cells have been reported recently. Methods of producing monoclonal antibodies to human pulmonary cancer by such techniques have also been reported [Cancer Res., 42, 150 (1982); Cancer Res., 42, 3187 (1982); J. Surgical Res., 30, 403 (1981); Transplantation Proceed., XIII (4), 1942 (1981); J. Immunol., 131 (1), 497 (1983); Seishi Kyoizumi: Abstracts of Papers Presented at the 1983 Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunology, page 212 (Abstract No. 107) (1983)].
However, most of those monoclonal antibodies react with cancer species other than pulmonary cancer and in many cases also with normal human cells. Those which can be said to be specific to pulmonary cancer are very few in number.
Recently reported are methods of a serodiagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma using monoclonal antibodies which recognize sialylated glycoproteins or glycolipids as antigens [Cancer Res., 47, 1267-1272 (1987); International Journal of Cancer, 36, 421-425 (1985), Cancer Res., 45, 3711-3717 (1985); JP-A-62-80558 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means "an unexamined published Japanese patent application")]. In all of these reports there is no mention of serodiagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma with a monoclonal antibody recognizing proteins as antigens.
The anti-human pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma monoclonal antibody SLC-454 (hereinafter briefly referred to as SLC-454) is a monoclonal antibody isolated by the present inventors. In a serodiagnostic system which uses this antibody, the percentage of positive reactions among pulmonary adenocarcinoma cases is 25%; see EP-A-0252769 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,935.
Serodiagnostic systems for pulmonary adenocarcinoma which use SLC-454, are already of great clinical importance. However, the reactivity of SLC-454 to pulmonary adenocarcinoma is not sufficiently high so that it often gives a high incidence of false-positive reactions with benign pulmonary diseases.
A monoclonal antibody reacting specifically with pulmonary adenocarcinoma, if available, would be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary adenocarcinoma. While some monoclonal antibodies to pulmonary adenocarcinoma are known, the advent of better antibodies is waited for.